For years, Republican Congressman Jerry Lewis brought home the bacon for Riverside County, and his use of earmarks for friends and contributors attracted attention from the FBI. Now he promises to preside over cutbacks — even for California — if he gets back his job as chair of the Appropriations Committee, which approves all federal spending. Also, the latest effort to bring the NFL to Los Angeles and, why do some state auditors and attorneys carry guns at public expense? On our rebroadcast of To the Point, WikiLeaks and "enforced transparency."

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For years, Republican Congressman Jerry Lewis brought home the bacon for Riverside County, and his use of earmarks for friends and contributors attracted attention from the FBI. Now he promises to preside over cutbacks — even for California — if he gets back his job as chair of the Appropriations Committee, which approves all federal spending. Also, the latest effort to bring the NFL to Los Angeles and, why do some state auditors and attorneys carry guns at public expense? On our rebroadcast of today's To the Point, after shaking up international diplomacy, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says American banks are next. We hear how newspapers decide which leaked information to publish and why WikiLeaks is so hard to stop.

Banner image: Congressman Lewis addresses the house on the Defense Supplemental Funding Bill on July 28, 2010

Jerry Lewis, a 16-term veteran of Congress from Redlands, is in line to get back his job as chair of the Appropriations Committee. It presides over all federal spending, and the 76-year-old Republican has promised big cuts, even for California. But the last time Lewis chaired that committee, when Republicans were in charge a few years ago, he was investigated by the FBI, and the conservative watch-dog group Judicial Watch still calls him one of Washington's "10 Most Wanted Politicians."

WikiLeaks’ latest “megadump” of information has caused distress and embarrassment worldwide, especially at the US State Department where Secretary of State Clinton says the documents “allegedly” originated. Publication in five newspapers around the world has only begun, and staffs of reporters and checkers have been assigned to determine what’s real and what’s not.

Former LA Lakers player and part-owner Magic Johnson says he’s joining an effort to bring the NFL back to Los Angeles, and that’s not the only such plan. Sports writer Sam Farmer is chasing the story for the Los Angeles Times. Former City Hall staffer Greg Nelson says that talk gives him “a queasy feeling.”

The State Senate's Office of Oversight and Outcomes is asking an interesting question. Why are some lawyers and auditors for the state's Inspector General provided with body armor, trained to fire semi-automatic weapons and required to carry weapons at all times, when not one has fired a gun or made an arrest for five years? Chase Davis reports for CaliforniaWatch.org.